Stuck Ferment

[Sone]

This is the second time I've had a stuck ferment at 1.020 and the second time I have used a two can kit. Am I just unlucky or is this a common theme with 2 can kits?

First was a wherry (obviously known for stuck ferments) but I rehydrated the original yeast and just now a wilkos golden ale kit which I swapped the yeast to s-04, also rehydrated. The golden ale has been in my brew fridge for 7 days at 19 degrees and had a great start almost escaping out the fv. I'm moving on from kits now but I am just curious as I may wish to brew another 2 can kit in the future

 

[NickW]

I'veheard that a tsp of yeast nutrient can help wwith this. Never happened to me though so I can't comment from experience

 

[winelight]

I've brewed many 2-can kits and never had a stuck fermentation. But then I've never rehydrated either. Is there a connection?

 

[pittsy]

A stuck ferment is often down to either the wort from all grain brewing lacks something (zinc and all sorts ) but as it's a kit beer it must be down to under pitching viable yeast . You hydrate the dried yeast which if you don't can lose 50% of the viable yeast . some yeast packets are 7g others 11g , and i think you've probably used enough . :hmm:
An easy way to solve this is use more viable yeast and a cheap easy way is to use the sediment (around 500 ml ) out of the fv after this brew is done . First wash the yeast/sediment then make a starter (adding around 1 litre of boiled cooled water + 100g dme) with it 2 days before brew day and your next brew will take off like a rocket and finish nicely too . For the cost of dme (around 100g ) is cheaper than a new yeast packet . You can do this around 5 times before problems may arise from yeast mutating and only if beer brewed was below 1060 ish each time .

 

[Sandimas]

Yeast nutrient definately helps with some of the kits, I don't do them that often these days but I did some experiments and ended up with much lower FGs with an added teaspoon of yeast nutrient.

Do you know who manufacturers the Wilko kits - is it Muntons? If so, I found their kits particularly prone to sticking e.g. I've never had a Coopers kit get stuck.

 

[Sone]

Cheers guys, not sure who make the wilkos kit, probably muntons like you say. These are the only two brews that have stuck for me, I haven't gently stirred the beer, just agitated the fv slightly and increased temps to 20.5 degrees. I'm looking at yeast starters now so thanks for the tip :thumb:

If I check in a few days and it's still 1.020 will yeast nutrient and a stir help or should I just pitch more yeast? I still have the original yeast but not sure how that would turn out with 2 different yeasts?

 

[rpt]

Muntons definitely make the Wilko kits.

I've always thought that the reason why kits stick is due to the small (5g) packets of dried yeast but since you used S04 I don't know why. I've not had a problem with that yeast.

 

[Sone]

Me neither, only reason I swapped was because of the wherry getting stuck! Plus like I say the initial ferment was very healthy so I never expected this one to become stuck especially using s-04 yeast, ah well the wherry finished at 1.014 after a stir so if still stuck I'll give it a stir :thumb:

 

[rpt]

Is the fermentation temperature stable? I had a Wherry stick and I think that was due to a drop in temperature. Now have a fermentation fridge so have had only one brew stick since (and that was with Windsor yeast which is another story).

 

[Sone]

Yeah it's actually my first brew in a brew fridge :whistle: Temp was set to 19 degrees with a +/- of 1 degree but now raised to 20.5 to try and get the yeasts going again. Temp probe is half way up the fv behind some bubble wrap.

What temperature would you put the stc at for this type of yeast?

 

[rpt]

For ale I usually set the STC to 20C +- 0.3C. But towards the end of fermentation (once 3/4 of the way to the expected FG) I raise the temperature by 1C every 12 hours until it gets to 24C. This is to achieve full attenuation. You can have a temperature this high as any off flavours will have happened during the early stages.

 

[Sone]

Didn't realise that, will keep that in mind for the next brew going in :thumb:

 

[Sone]

Still at 1.020 so have given the whole thing a gentle stir. What would you guys do if it stays at 1.020?

 

[rpt]

I'd rack it to another FV.

 

[Sone]

Maybe it was temperature issues in the end, just strange how the only issues I've had so far have been with 2 can kits. Putting me off the last wherry kit I have! Will get it racked in a few days :thumb:

 

[Floodster]

I have had a few kits now stop at 1020 for no reason. I just ended up bottling them in the end and they actually turned out fine!
Wherry is a common one to stop there.

 

[pittsy]

If temp is ok and the beer has had enough time and it has stuck at 1020 even after it has had a gentle stir then the cause is often not enough viable yeast was used and the result in under pitching is the yeast get worn out and go to sleep . Under pitching is far worse for the beer than over pitching , try it in a next batch with extra yeast and you should get a fast ferment (stage 1) that will have less off flavours and the yeast are in a fitter state to clean up the beer too . We make wort , yeast makes beer , so getting the right amount of healthy viable yeast is key to good beer .

 

[Sandimas]

I'd rack it to another FV.

+1

I'm a big fan of using a secondary FV to clear the beer prior to bottling, so I'd suggest doing this and leaving it somewhere warm for a week or so, then taking another reading. A bit more time won't hurt the beer. Sometimes they come down (I just had a Coopers Dark that I thought was stuck but ended up down at 1.008), sometimes they are persistent and stay stuck. After that, stick the secondary FV in the cool for 5 days or so and you'll have lovely clearish beer to bottle.

As I posted above, I'm a convert to using yeast nutrient with kits now, I've never had a stuck kit since I've been using it, despite brewing in some cooler temperatures. Strangely, I've never had a stuck Extract brew, so reckon it must be something in the kits (esp Muntons) that make them stick.

 

[Sone]

Cheers guys, going to rack this later today then, I've left it somewhere a bit warmer and it has dropped slowly to 1.015 so we are not too far off. Tastes pretty good so quite looking forward to this one! :thumb:

 

[naturals]

I thought I had a stuck fermentation earlier in the week - no bubbling after 24hrs and nothing would get it sorted; I tried gently rocking the FV, putting it in a warmer spot in the flat. I seriously considered the 2hr round trip to the LHBS to get some more yeast.

I finally realised I hadn't screwed the lid of the FV on fully and the CO2 was leaking out. 2min after tightening it was bubbling away. Sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees...